Canadian pitcher John Axford 18 for 18 in his picks for Academy Awards

CP

SURPRISE, Ariz. - After converting 49 consecutive saves from 2011 to early 2012, John Axford has another streak going.

The Cleveland Indians closer went 18 for 18 on his Academy Awards picks.

Axford made the projections after the Indians' game Sunday on his Facebook page. Last year the Canadian pitcher was correct on 14 of his 15 Oscar selections; he picked Steven Spielberg as best director for "Lincoln" and Ang Lee won for "Life of Pi."

"It was fun," Axford said Monday. "I was following it online, not even watching it on TV. I was getting updates from people on Twitter. 'You're 3 for 3, 5 for 5.' It was pretty neat. By the time it got 14 for 14, I said, 'Wow, I picked 14 right last year.' It definitely got a little more intense after that. When it got 16 for 16, I assumed I had it locked."

There are 24 Oscar categories, and Axford said on Twitter he will predict them all next year.

Axford left Milwaukee and agreed in December to a $4.5 million, one-year deal with Cleveland, where he will replace Chris Perez as closer.

Axford, who is from Simcoe, Ont., received a Bachelor of Arts degree in film and television from Notre Dame.

"I hope he's as good when it comes to saves," Indians manager Terry Francona said.